So Paradox engine from $41 to what, $10? I'd say less but I would imagine if people bought in at $40 they'd rather keep it than sell for just a few bucks. Either way, funny how as usual the price of a card started to drop and then it gets the ol ban. Read people speculating it was getting a ban due to this a few days ago.
I literally acknowledged GGT as a ban with minimal GP data, I.e. the battle of sideboards reference you are making, in the post I assume you are responding to. So I don't know why you are framing this as a no GP result = no ban scenario. As I posted on this same page and will repost now, GGT was banned with very few GP results, likely based off MTGO data. Hogaak could be the same case regardless of how the GP plays out. I know you are exceedingly skeptical of Wizards and routinely negative towards Modern over a good chunk of the last 3 years, but that doesn't mean you need to indict Wizards' handling of the current situation. At least, not until after the 8th.
They knew what was going to happen with Eldrazi Winter but that PT still happened.
What do you think the chances are that Wizards leaves Hogaak in with the express purpose of making it the level 0 deck at the Pro Tour, and seeing if the PT can define a new metagame first?
The Eldrazi Winter timeline was a little different. The deck was largely off the radar until the PT. Then it broke out big at the PT, but Wizards didn't act immediately. There was significant cause for concern for a month or so, and then a triple GP weekend where Eldrazi ran absolutely rampant. Eye died at the next ban update, and there was no scheduled ban update between the PT and the GP weekend.
With Hogaak, we actually have a B&R update scheduled before the PT, which gives Wizards an opportunity to act. I think this is largely dependent on the results this weekend. If it's a Hogaak fest, we'll probably see a ban based on GP and MTGO performance. If Hogaak falls flat on Day 2 and into the T32/16/8, or just matches performance with other top decks like Izzet Phoenix, Humans, and others, Wizards will probably wait until after the PT. I'm unwilling to make a final prediction until we have the results from this weekend.
While I agree I still think it is too broken in its current state given the ability to straight up win on turn 2. It's like an 80%+ game one deck vs the regular field and even postboard it's probably still in reasonable shape even vs someone with 4 leylines.
I've never been one for bannings, I've always liked the idea of modern being left alone unless absolutely necessary. While I agreed that ancient stirrings was very powerful I was never onboard with ban stirrings when it was the dominate card a while ago fueling KCI, Tron etc. Likewise when Pheonix burst on the scene and people starting going crazy over looting I was again against the idea of banning it (also just to note I didn't play a stirrings deck or a looting deck so I didn't have a vested interest).
I do not want wizards to ban multiple cards and kill the deck. It's so completely different to dredge that I consider it an entirely different style of deck so I'm more than fine with multiple graveyard based decks existing. It does need taking down in power though. Banning Altar and seeing how the deck does would be my preferred choice. With Altar gone the deck would be a lot slower to fill the graveyard and would lose the ability to straight up win on turn 2. I have to imagine that Hogaak and Carrion feeder alone are enough of an addition to the deck that it would still be a solid T1 choice.
I've always been a fan of blue decks and at the time of the delve spell era I was on UWR control and I felt like I had a solid matchup with all the removal and 4 surpreme verdicts. I didn't have to dedicate 6 + slots to try to beat it.
As for Eldrazi it was obviously broken as hell but you had outs. It was like ok if I don't draw my sweeper I'm dead. Now it's like oh you've got an altar out and I have 7 cards in hand but none of them do anything, looks like I just lose on the spot on turn 2. For Eldrazi to turn 2 you they needed a seriously nutty hand like eye, triple mimic into temple SSG smasher. That's a 7 card 'combo' which you could also stop with just a discard spell or a removal spell or a counter or a blocker.
I have been enjoying modern less than ever before. Even Eldrazi winter and treasure cruise delver was less oppressive.
My leagues this evening:
0-4 drop (lost to original affinity, urza combo and 2 hogaak decks)
3-2 (beat hogaak twice and UR delver once and lost to hogaak and amulet titan)
For reference I'm on a temur snow deck and have 1 surgical 1 relic main and another of each in the board. After this league I will be going up to the full 4 relics though I still don't expect that to be enough.
It's a small sample sure but in 2 leagues I used to play almost every deck differently maybe some repeats of like humans or phoenix, now I'm running into 2 or 3 hogaak's in just ONE league. It's madness. It's fast, consistent, resilient and heavily played. If nothing gets removed from the deck I'll be selling out of modern for sure. I'm fine with the deck existing but not on the level that it is. Either Altar or Hogaak itself need to go.
Can anyone explain why this is not one of the worst cards in this set?
Maybe it's because I'm a Standard player, but I can't think of a single deck that would ever want this. You can't play it on turn 1 or 2. If you play it on turn 3, you forfeit that turn.
If you're a 1- or 2-color deck, you don't need fixing like this. And if you're a many-colored deck, you'd much rather have the two dual-lands you just sacrificed than a land that can only produce one color of mana at a time.
What am I missing here?
Why do you forfeit the turn if you play it on turn 3? You still get to use the 2 mana before you sac the other lands. Then on turn 4 you play kiora and untap the lotus, play another land which lets you play 7 mana of spells on turn 4. Or if you play another lotus that's 6 mana of spells on turn 4 and 10 mana on turn 5... A Krasis for 8 on turn 5 seems pretty good to me
Wow this is powerful. Being able to avoid the blowout of field of ruin, ghost quarter etc etc is huge.
This is surprisingly close to a strictly better lotus vale. Sure it enters tapped but at the same time the 2 lands you sac don't have to be tapped and of course the hexproof part is huge. Does seem like it's just a better option.
A good reprint and a pretty much strictly better Voltaic Key. Sure.
More likely just another version of it.
This new card says untap ANOTHER which means it does not combo with any of the untap commander shenanigans you do with key. If you're running the key as a fair card then sure you'd want the new one but who runs key for anything other than going infinite with basalt monolith/rings of brighthearth etc?
Sweet card. You've got to imagine with tiny teferi this will see play in standard. Holding up removal/counters until your opponents EoT then casting this if you didn't have to use your mana is game swinging. You're either finding 2 amazing cards, tutoring for 1 card that you really wanted and getting an extra for your trouble or hitting 7 trash cards which puts you 7 draws closer to the answer you actually want.
They're adding a lot of value to this set. These are definitely nice to see even if they may not see as much play in Standard with the shocks around.
I'll admit I was hoping for an uncommon enemy version of the Miragefetches or wedges of the Shardspanoramas but these will do.
'buster
these aren't adding value, not one breaks $3 NOW, I doubt any break a dollar after this.
I am trying to think of a less exciting cycle of rare lands, there aren't many. I was hoping for the rest of the Horizon lands or Zendikar fetches, but even failing one of the home run cycles, they could have done a lot better than this
This is a ridiculous way to look at it. I'm surprised we're getting any rare land cycle at all given they're already put guaranteed value at rare with the leylines. Thinking they'd put fetches or horizon lands in a standard set... good joke lol. Doubt fetches ever see standard again.
Anyway comparing the price of a card that sees almost no play anywhere outside of commander to when it is suddenly needed for standard is unfair. If temples were already $20 then sure they'd drop but starting so low will see increases not decreases. Look at the pain lands from Magic 2015/origins. Before reprints the older 10th edition ones were half the price and when they got reprinted in standard the price doubled.
Not to mention fall rotation knocks out the checklands and we're losing things like llanowar elves, opt, shock, firebrand, lavarunner, all the white 1 drops. Basically no one is playing 1 drops so a turn 1 tapped scry land is perfectly fine.
There's a lot of pushed things going on in this set.
Thankfully there's nothing truly broken in modern for the vampire type but it does mean any future vampires could potentially be broken with this which is always a worrying way to make a card.
This seems like a good sideboard option for blue moon style decks in modern.
2 mana answer to almost everything in humans. Uncounterable clean answer to both teferi and jace even after they've come down and ticked up (while also killing off colonnades and baneslayers). Also a way to kill thing in the ice before it flips and crackling drake.
The 3 mana 7/6 scares me senseless. Plenty of decks see discard as an upside in older formats and the fact that if you're empty handed this doesn't die is huge. Also since it's in your upkeep it means if you're empty handed you 'discard' then draw for the turn. I dunno... I'm all for pushing boundaries but this feels too far for almost no downside.
While I agree I still think it is too broken in its current state given the ability to straight up win on turn 2. It's like an 80%+ game one deck vs the regular field and even postboard it's probably still in reasonable shape even vs someone with 4 leylines.
I've never been one for bannings, I've always liked the idea of modern being left alone unless absolutely necessary. While I agreed that ancient stirrings was very powerful I was never onboard with ban stirrings when it was the dominate card a while ago fueling KCI, Tron etc. Likewise when Pheonix burst on the scene and people starting going crazy over looting I was again against the idea of banning it (also just to note I didn't play a stirrings deck or a looting deck so I didn't have a vested interest).
I do not want wizards to ban multiple cards and kill the deck. It's so completely different to dredge that I consider it an entirely different style of deck so I'm more than fine with multiple graveyard based decks existing. It does need taking down in power though. Banning Altar and seeing how the deck does would be my preferred choice. With Altar gone the deck would be a lot slower to fill the graveyard and would lose the ability to straight up win on turn 2. I have to imagine that Hogaak and Carrion feeder alone are enough of an addition to the deck that it would still be a solid T1 choice.
I've always been a fan of blue decks and at the time of the delve spell era I was on UWR control and I felt like I had a solid matchup with all the removal and 4 surpreme verdicts. I didn't have to dedicate 6 + slots to try to beat it.
As for Eldrazi it was obviously broken as hell but you had outs. It was like ok if I don't draw my sweeper I'm dead. Now it's like oh you've got an altar out and I have 7 cards in hand but none of them do anything, looks like I just lose on the spot on turn 2. For Eldrazi to turn 2 you they needed a seriously nutty hand like eye, triple mimic into temple SSG smasher. That's a 7 card 'combo' which you could also stop with just a discard spell or a removal spell or a counter or a blocker.
My leagues this evening:
0-4 drop (lost to original affinity, urza combo and 2 hogaak decks)
3-2 (beat hogaak twice and UR delver once and lost to hogaak and amulet titan)
For reference I'm on a temur snow deck and have 1 surgical 1 relic main and another of each in the board. After this league I will be going up to the full 4 relics though I still don't expect that to be enough.
It's a small sample sure but in 2 leagues I used to play almost every deck differently maybe some repeats of like humans or phoenix, now I'm running into 2 or 3 hogaak's in just ONE league. It's madness. It's fast, consistent, resilient and heavily played. If nothing gets removed from the deck I'll be selling out of modern for sure. I'm fine with the deck existing but not on the level that it is. Either Altar or Hogaak itself need to go.
Well there's also phoenix of course that was an actual legit deck then finale of devastation and neoform are combo enablers too.
Turn 1 mana dork, turn 2 lingering souls, turn 3 flashback lingering souls cast this bam 7/7 flying lifelinker and your lingering souls are indestructible roadblocks.
Why do you forfeit the turn if you play it on turn 3? You still get to use the 2 mana before you sac the other lands. Then on turn 4 you play kiora and untap the lotus, play another land which lets you play 7 mana of spells on turn 4. Or if you play another lotus that's 6 mana of spells on turn 4 and 10 mana on turn 5... A Krasis for 8 on turn 5 seems pretty good to me
This is surprisingly close to a strictly better lotus vale. Sure it enters tapped but at the same time the 2 lands you sac don't have to be tapped and of course the hexproof part is huge. Does seem like it's just a better option.
More likely just another version of it.
This new card says untap ANOTHER which means it does not combo with any of the untap commander shenanigans you do with key. If you're running the key as a fair card then sure you'd want the new one but who runs key for anything other than going infinite with basalt monolith/rings of brighthearth etc?
This is a ridiculous way to look at it. I'm surprised we're getting any rare land cycle at all given they're already put guaranteed value at rare with the leylines. Thinking they'd put fetches or horizon lands in a standard set... good joke lol. Doubt fetches ever see standard again.
Anyway comparing the price of a card that sees almost no play anywhere outside of commander to when it is suddenly needed for standard is unfair. If temples were already $20 then sure they'd drop but starting so low will see increases not decreases. Look at the pain lands from Magic 2015/origins. Before reprints the older 10th edition ones were half the price and when they got reprinted in standard the price doubled.
Not to mention fall rotation knocks out the checklands and we're losing things like llanowar elves, opt, shock, firebrand, lavarunner, all the white 1 drops. Basically no one is playing 1 drops so a turn 1 tapped scry land is perfectly fine.
Thankfully there's nothing truly broken in modern for the vampire type but it does mean any future vampires could potentially be broken with this which is always a worrying way to make a card.
2 mana answer to almost everything in humans. Uncounterable clean answer to both teferi and jace even after they've come down and ticked up (while also killing off colonnades and baneslayers). Also a way to kill thing in the ice before it flips and crackling drake.